The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:30:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png How DEI Shareholder Proposals Are Faring in 2026 – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 How DEI Shareholder Proposals Are Faring in 2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/06/05/how-dei-shareholder-proposals-are-faring-in-2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-dei-shareholder-proposals-are-faring-in-2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/06/05/how-dei-shareholder-proposals-are-faring-in-2026/#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:32:03 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=181643?d=20260604150904EDT Posted by David A. Bell and Wendy Grasso, Fenwick & West LLP, on Friday, June 5, 2026
Editor's Note:

David A. Bell is a Partner and Co-Chair of Corporate Governance, and Wendy Grasso is a Corporate Governance Counsel at Fenwick & West LLP.

What You Need To Know

  • Pro-DEI proposals have declined sharply for the 2026 proxy season, with only 10 proposals submitted through May 31, 2026, compared to approximately 47 submitted for the full 2025 proxy season. Of the five pro-DEI proposals voted on thus far, average support has been approximately 13%, with results varying significantly by proposal category.
  • Anti-DEI proposals are dominating the 2026 landscape, with 43 submitted through May 31, 2026, driven primarily by proposals requesting reports on the risk of discrimination based on social viewpoints. However, anti-DEI proposals continue to receive minimal shareholder support, with the 22 proposals voted on thus far averaging approximately 1% approval.

The 2026 proxy season marks a continuation and, in many respects, an acceleration of the trends observed in 2025. This year, anti-DEI proposals represent the dominant form of DEI-related shareholder activism, while pro-DEI proposals have receded significantly in both volume and voter support. This trend appears to be consistent with Proxy Analytics’ recently reported results, which found that conservative-leaning proponents are making up a larger share of submitted proposals overall in 2026.

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